POULTRY AND GAME
CAUTION:—To roast fowls the fire must be quick and clear. Baste frequently and if you don’t use a double roaster, keep white paper pinned on the breast till it is nearly done.
Take the turkey, draw it and wash it clean and dry with a clean towel. Turkey Dressing. Take 1 loaf of stale bread, free of crust cut into inch cubes and pour over it 1 pint of hot milk, stir it all soft and smooth, then beat an egg light and add to the mixture, season with pepper and salt and poultry seasoning, 1 table spoon of melted butter. Then stuff your turkey with this mixture. Then sew it up and draw legs back close to the body and the wings back against the side so that the breast will stand out prominently. Dust the turkey with salt and pepper and drawn butter, then lay on a grate in the roast pan with down. This permits the juice to run down into the breast and makes it tender and juicy. The oven should be very hot when the turkey is first put in and the heat slightly reduced after the first ¹⁄₂ hour. Cook in the original position for the first hour then turn it over on its back and cook until a light brown, allowing for cooking 15 minutes to alb.
After drawing the duck, wiping out with a clean towel, do not wash them, cut off wings to the second joint. Roast in a very hot oven from 15 to 20 minutes in a baking pan containing a little water, any one of the dressings may be chosen for the filling but I use just the plain dressing and always serve apple sauce with duck.
Take 1 pint of chestnut, prepare the nut by making a cut in each with a sharp knife. Then put them in a kettle, cover with cold water, bring to a boil and boil exactly 2 minutes. Remove from the water, drain, turn in a pan with a little butter and shake over fire, after this the shells and skins may be removed together. Chop the nuts, add a large cupful of grated bread crumb, 4 tablespoonful of butter, melted, 1 tablespoonful of shredded parsley, ¹⁄₂ teaspoonful of ground poultry seasoning salt and pepper to taste. This gives rather a dry dressing and sufficient hot water to mix to a paste may be added if a moist dressing is preferred.
1 quart of oysters will be required for an ordinary sized turkey. Grate into a mixing bowl 4 large cupfuls of bread crumbs, add a teaspoonful of chopped celery, drain the oysters either chop or leave them whole, 1 salt spoonful of white pepper, 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and add the cup of oyster liquid. ¹⁄₂ cup of sherry may be added.
Singe, draw the chicken and disjoint it, put a ¹⁄₄lb.of bacon in a sauce pan and let the fat fry out slowly. When the bacon is crisp lift it out and put it aside. Flour the pieces of chicken, drop them in the hot bacon fat, shake and turn them until brown then draw them to one side of the saucepan. Add to the fat 3 level tablespoonfuls of flour, mix and add 1 pint of boiling water, stir until boiling, add a level teaspoonful of salt, cover and simmer gently until the chicken is done (1hr.). Remove from the pan and place on a good size platter with the gravy poured over it and split biscuit laid around the outside of platter.
Guenia is split open on the back and placed on a broiler over a hot fire and cooked to a light brown on both sides. Remove the guenia season with salt and pepper and tablespoon of hot butter poured over then place in oven for about 10 minutes before serving and serve hot.
Select a young goose weighing 8 or 10lbs., wash and scrub the skin thoroughly and cleanse with warm water. Wipe the fowl dry and stuff with any of the preceding dressings. Sew the goose and steam for ¹⁄₂ hour to draw out the oil. Then place in a pan, dredge with salt, pepper and a little flour, rub over the outside, pouring in a little hot water into the pan and put the goose in a hot oven to roast when it begins to brown baste often. Cook for 1 hour and ¹⁄₂ until brown and tender.
Prepare it the same as for fricassee chicken, put in a kettle, cover it with water and let it cook till tender, before removing from the kettle season with salt and pepper, then remove from the kettle when cool, remove it from the bones and thicken the gravy with 2 tablespoonsful of flour in a little cold water to dissolve the flour, then add 1 cup of milk and cream and serve with hot waffles.
3 eggs beaten separate, then add 1pt.of milk, 1 large tablespoonful of melted butter, 1 even teaspoonful of salt and flour enough to thicken the same as for pan cakes. Stir all together with 2 tablespoonsful of Baking Powder and the whites of the eggs beaten stiff the last thing. Have waffle iron hot and bake until a light brown. This will serve 6 people.
Prepare the same as Fricassee chicken then split open through the back. Place on a broiler over a hot fire and cook by turning them from one side to another until light brown, then remove from the broiler place on a hot plate large enough to hold the chicken and place in the oven with pieces of butter, pepper and salt over it about 10 minutes before serving.
2 cups of chopped chicken, 3 eggs beaten light, a little salt and pepper. Beat the chicken and eggs together and drop from a tablespoon in hot fat.
Cook the chicken well done, seasoning well with small piece of butter, pepper and salt to taste, remove it from the bone or not as preferred. Line a baking dish with a rich biscuit dough rolled out the same as for pie crust and fill the dish up with the chicken and the liquid, sprinkle over with flour and cover with a top crust. This is very good.
Dress and wash same as chicken. Put in water enough to cover and slice into the water an small onion. Boil till onion is soft, drain and remove onion, cover with boiling water and cook till tender and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with brown gravy or stew down and fry in butter.